Promises
by Amelia Letter
Summary: "I will never leave you for being you, Rowena." "You will always love me?" "Of course." "Even with my dark side?" "You are perfect to me, Rowena. You have no dark side in my eyes." Judging is such a simple task when another's morality is in question and promises are so easily broken. Rowena/Godric. Written for the Dark Side Competition and the 10 Fandoms Challenge on HPFC.


**A/N: Hello everybody! I wrote this Rowena/Godric for the "Dark Side" Competition and the "5, 10, 20, 50, 70 Fandoms" Challenge, both on HPFC. I hope everyone likes it :)**

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_995 A.D. (approximately 5 years after the establishment of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry)_

Rowena set her tea down on the nightstand next to her and turned her attention back to the book she was reading. _Tea_. She smiled simply at how amusing it was. The rest of Europe had yet to catch on to why Asia was so keen on tea. It was simply boiled water with leaves, but boiled water was the important part. Boiled water was clean water and plenty healthier than the rubbish they drank in Manchester.

Recently, it seemed to Rowena that learning things the hard way was not only common amongst Muggles, but also wizards. Especially when it came to the Arithmancy students.

Rowena felt the bed slightly shift and Godric's leg brush against hers. "What on—" Godric started, but paused when he opened his eyes and spotted Rowena. "Why is that light on, Rowena?" he grumbled, his voice muffled by the sheets.

"I'm reading," she replied, her attention solely focused on the material in front of her.

"At this unearthly hour?" he questioned.

Rowena did not reply.

She felt Godric's hand on her wrist and as much as the voice in her hand was willing her to concentrate on reading, Rowena couldn't help but shift her head to face Godric. She noted his handsome features were contorted into a look of worry. Worry for her. And despite the fact that her brain was telling her to look away, Rowena's misty blue eyes stayed focused on his golden brown ones. Godric sat up next to her, worry still clearly etched on his face. "What's wrong, love?" he asked quietly.

"Honestly, I'm not sure why you would think something is wrong," Rowena replied matter-of-factly. "I'm reading. Me. Rowena Ravenclaw. Reading. If I were you, I would be worried if I _wasn't_ reading."

"I'm worried that you're not sleeping when it's the middle of the night," Godric said.

"It's actually three in the morning," Rowena corrected as she turned her attention back to her book.

"Rowena," Godric sighed. "What's on your mind?"

"Just possibilities," Rowena muttered in reply.

After a pause, Godric asked, "Possibilities of what?"

With a sigh, Rowena closed her book and slowly placed it down on her lap. "Possibilities that you might stop loving me," she answered, her voice as quiet as Death itself.

It took only a moment for what she had just said to sink into Godric's head. "My goodness, Rowena, when do you have time to come up with such preposterous things?" he asked, slightly relieved that it wasn't anything worse.

This topic was brought onto Rowena earlier in the week. The last-living Ravenclaw had always been a slightly paranoid sort and definitely highly independent. Falling in love with Godric had been... unplanned, for sure, and it changed her. She had stopped worrying so much and had learned to become a tad dependent on her love. And that was when she realized that if he ever left her, she'd be left with absolutely nothing. Her whole person, her whole characteristic, would be gone, pulled from her body by the cruel hands of love.

Rowena sighed and turned to face Godric. "Do you know what's the worst thing about people?" she asked.

"I don't quite understand," Godric slowly replied.

"People," Rowena began, "are completely changeable and multifaceted. And I don't want something like my dark side popping up and you just running off."

After a pause of silence, Godric spoke. "It must be all of the work that's driven you mad," he said. Godric moved closer to her and gently cupped Rowena's face with his hands. Rowena's eyes shifted up to his face. "_I love_ _you_. This means that I'm always going to be by your side. I will never leave you for being you, Rowena."

"You will always love me?" Rowena asked.

"Of course," Godric replied, a small smile appearing on his face.

"Even with my dark side?" she added.

Godric smiled a bit wider. "Rowena, in my eyes, you are perfect," he said. "You have no dark side. And even if you did, you would still be perfect to me."

Rowena felt the smile slowly forming on her face and the blush that spread across her cheeks. She had never been one for the admissions of love or a fanatic of lustful trysts, but Godric had changed her. She had found someone to love and someone that loved her back and it made the world that much brighter. It made the days go by much more smoothly and easily and it made her feel loved.

When Rowena noticed Godric leaning toward her, she didn't hesitate to make the final stretch that made their lips meet in a heartwarming kiss. Rowena always relished these kisses. They were gentle and full of love. And the unbelievably close contact with Godric made her knees go weak and her heart speed up. Their lips fit together so perfectly and softly. Rowena could never stop herself from falling into Godric and bringing their bodies closer together.

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_1005 A.D (approximately 15 years after the establishment of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry)_

Rowena could feel the bath water beginning to prune her skin, but she couldn't bring herself to get out of the quickly cooling water. Not just yet. By her estimations, there was still another twenty minutes until the meeting. Rowena sighed tiredly as she closed her eyes and slid down until her shoulders were covered by the lukewarm water, her feet hanging over the rim of the metal tub. Slowly, her mind seemed to clear up just a tad and Rowena felt the tendons and muscles in her feet and shoulders begin to loosen up. It was the calmest she had been since... since that bloody visit from her half-sister, actually.

However, Rowena's peacefulness was soon interrupted as she heard the door creak open. Rowena eventually opened her eyes, albeit reluctantly. She quickly spotted the new inhabitant of the room. She sighed disappointedly at the thought of having to move from her relaxed environment.

"Ah, pardon me, Rowena," Salazar said. "I had a small question. I'll ask you after the meeting."

"No, I was getting out," Rowena lied. "Just leave the room for a moment."

"Um... of course," he muttered as he stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him.

Rowena stood up in the metal tub and stepped out slowly. She grabbed her robe from the chair next to the tub and slipped it on as she made her way to the opaque folding screen by one of the walls. She had gotten it on a small trip to Japan. "So what was your small question?" she called out as she slipped off her robe and hung it over the screen. Rowena heard the door open and Salazar clear his throat.

"Oh, just a question about the castle architecture, figuring you would know it best," Salazar replied.

"This was known as Ravenclaw Castle not too long ago, so you'd be right in saying that," Rowena said. Rowena remembered it like yesterday. She was only twenty then, they all were, and her mother had just died, leaving the legendary Ravenclaw Castle and all of the Ravenclaw riches in her possession. However, all of that didn't matter simply because her whole family was dead. Obviously, when her old friend Helga and two strange men came to her with an idea to start a school, Rowena quickly accepted and offered the castle as the grounds. "What were you wondering?" Rowena asked.

"Oh, just the floors," Salazar replied. "Are there any rooms below the second floor lavatory and the dungeons?"

"Well, obviously there isn't anything below the dungeons," Rowena replied, despite the fact that the question was a bit strange. "And now that I think about it, there aren't any rooms below the second floor lavatory. That's quite odd."

"Yes, thank you, Rowena," Salazar said. The air was filled with silence for a spare moment. Suddenly, Rowena heard Salazar speak. "You've been quite distant lately."

Rowena paused from stepping into her dress as her mind processed her old friend's statement. She winced as her teeth ground together. "I'm fine," she replied stiffly.

"I'm sure you are," Salazar replied, his tone clearly sarcastic.

"I don't appreciate that tone very much Salazar," Rowena said bitterly. She pulled the blue silk of her dress over her shoulders and began tying the golden lace at the front. With a sigh and a glance at the mirror hanging on the wall behind her, Rowena decided that she'd reply. "Do you know why he left me?" Rowena questioned in a quiet voice.

"I would guess it has something to do with not being 'right'," Salazar answered. "Godric is a good person, but he has this belief that people with flaws are some sorts of villains."

Rowena pushed down the sleeves of her dress. "It was when my half-sister came," Rowena replied. Her half-sister was in fact the child of her Rowena's father and one of his closely treasured mistresses. "Do you remember? She _claimed_ that she had just as much right to the castle as I and deserved to speak for it, along with the rest of the Ravenclaw riches." Rowena bit the inside of her cheek and attempted to swallow down her anger. "And she changed her surname to _Ravenclaw_, like she was more... _deserving _of that name than I."

"Yes, I remember. You offered to split the riches with her, but her greed and envy got the best of her," Salazar stated. "The woman demanded absolutely everything, even what you had inherited from your mother's death. And—"

"And she demanded my _mother's_ things as well!" Rowena suddenly exclaimed. "I offered to give her everything that belonged to my father, save the castle, which was easily three quarters of my inheritance and that bastard child waltzed in like royalty and demanded more!" Rowena stepped out from behind the folding screen and leaned against the wall with a huff. "Most importantly, however, she wanted to end Hogwarts," Rowena added quietly, her voice filled with quiet anger and desperation. "Hogwarts is my family, my _life_. I have nothing else and no one else. I just want Hogwarts, but she wouldn't have any of it."

"So she got what was coming," Salazar added after a silent pause. The fact of the matter was that Rowena had thrown such a powerful jinx because of how angry she was that her half-sister was driven to insanity. Not that she wasn't already insane. "I completely understood and Helga said she would've done exactly the same to protect Hogwarts."

"But not Godric," Rowena said with bitter mirth. "He was too good for such villainous acts. He said that even if the darkest wizard of all turned out to be his half-brother and demanded all of his inheritance he would never jinx the man into insanity. Godric told me that my dark side had revealed itself and he would not tolerate it."

"Then there are two possibilities," Salazar replied. "Either my old friend is a coward or a liar."

"He's a liar," Rowena said in a confirming tone. "Because he claimed that there was nothing I could do to drive him away. He claimed to love me unconditionally."

"I never knew I had such a terrible friend," Salazar mused. "To think I shared tutors with this man."

Rowena gave Salazar a weak smile. "You are a good companion, Sal," Rowena replied. "I would hate to see you ever leave."

"Well, I hope I won't have to leave this world so soon," he replied. "Because that is the only way I am leaving Hogwarts."

Rowena's smile grew a tad bit wider as she walked over to the door and opened it, Salazar following behind her. Rowena's feet seemed to glide across the soft red carpet of the narrow downward-steeping hallways. The familiarity of it always brought memories of her childhood, but this time, quite a different memory resurfaced.

_There was a certain rush in her veins when Rowena dismissed Charms class and sped up to the offices where she found Godric. When she entered the room, he looked up instantly and stood up straight away, as if whatever work he was currently focused on could always wait for later. Rowena's face spread into a smile as Godric enveloped his hand around hers and pulled her along after him, up the steeping and narrow hallway that led to different rooms that over the centuries had different uses._

_Suddenly, Godric stopped short and Rowena's small form nearly crashed into him. He turned around and all at once, his arms were around her waist pulling her as closely as possible and his lips were on hers. Rowena brought her hands to the back of his neck and tried to make the spaces between their bodies disappear. Because, truth be told, Godric could be intoxicating. _

_Rowena often pondered on why she had suddenly grown so fond and dependent of this unruly and adventurous man. Perhaps it was the way he kissed her, slowly and lovingly, as if he was taking his time savouring the way her lips tasted. Or maybe it was the crooked smile that appeared on his face whenever Rowena felt a hot blush crawl up her neck and onto her face. However, it could've easily been every night they spent together filled with gentle whisperings of enamoured words and phrases, simply meant for the two of them._

_Slowly, she felt his lips pull away from hers, but when she opened her eyes he was still unbearably close. So close that she could hear his increased breathing and see the need in his eyes. "I love you, Rowena," he whispered. "I will always love you. You are the most splendid and perfect woman to walk this earth."_

_Rowena's eyes closed as she exhaled a slow breath. "I love you too," she said quietly. "It's so unusual and unnatural for me, but I cannot help myself from loving you."_

Rowena's attention was refocused as she heard someone clear their throat. Her eyes widened as she looked around the large office and noted the intense gazes, the most intense belonging to Godric. Embarrassment flooded through her and she could feel her face heating up and could easily imagine the shade of red it had probably reached. Godric, however, was not smiling. "Pardon me," Rowena said quietly. "I seem to have slipped in a small daydream. What was it we were discussing?"

"The st—"

"You're becoming reckless, Rowena," Godric interrupted Helga.

Helga sighed exaggeratedly and leaned back in her seat. "You've got one sure knack for starting trouble," she muttered, her familiar Welsh accent filled with annoyance.

"Pardon me?" Rowena repeated, her voice sharp.

"I don't believe I stuttered," Godric answered.

"Neither do I," Rowena said, standing up. "And you'll _know_ when I'm being reckless, _Godric_."

Rowena stood with her chin raised and her back straight as she turned on her heel and began walking towards the exit. As she passed a stone statue of a lion that Godric had insisted on placing in the office, Rowena's hand gracefully flew out and knocked the stone over, causing it to fall to the ground and break with a loud shatter. Rowena paused and turned around to face Godric.

"_This_ is me being reckless," she said. "Maybe you can differentiate now."

Rowena turned around again and left the office as quickly as her feet would carry her. There was nothing she could deal with then but she quite happily observed something very enlightening. She didn't care what Godric thought of her. Not anymore. Slowly, Rowena was becoming herself again. The same twenty year-old woman that had offered up her abode to be used as a school.

And whether or not that twenty year-old had a dark side or not, she didn't care, because there was no one around to say 'I love you' anymore.

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**So that's the end of it! :)**

**-Grammar/spelling?  
-Authenticity? It's usually quite difficult to write in medieval times and we don't know that much about the Founders so :)  
-No, this doesn't mean I'm straying away from my multi-chapter, if anyone was going to ask that. I could never leave that story :3**

**Thanks for reading! :)**


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